APES study guide 9

Energy efficiency

How much useful energy we get from each unit energy

super insulation

building technique that minimizes heat loss, and keeps heat in

weather stripping

strip of material installed around doors to insulate the room, and keep heat in. this is to seal gaps, keep heat in, and prevents drafts, fog, rain, and moisture from entering

LEED certification

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

• globally recognized rating system for sustainable buildings

Incandescent light bulb

Makes light by heating a metal piece until it glows

Compact florescent light

uses electric current to create UV light

LED light bulb

creates electricity by passing through a semiconductor material, producing light efficiently with lower energy consumption

passive solar energy

• absorbs heat in a well insulated home

Active solar heating

• capture energy by pumping heat absorbing fluid through collectors and stored

• NO ELECTRICITY IS GENERATED

Solar water heater

Uses the sun’s energy to heat water by collecting solar radiation through a solar collector

Photovoltaic Solar cell (PV cells)

Device that directly converts sunlight to electricity using photovoltaic effect

• can be used for centralized generation (Power plant) or Distributed generator (No black box)

Solar thermal plant

hydrogen fuel center

Facility where hydrogen gas is produced, stored, and dispensed for fuel centers

wind power

using kinetic energy from the wind to generate energy

ethanol fuel

biofuel made primarily from corn, or sugar cane

• blended with gasoline to reduce emissions

switch grass

Hydro electric power

produces energy from harnessing kinetic energy from moving water

Biodiesel

derived from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycles cooking oil

bagasse

dry, pulpy residue left after extracting juice from sugar cane. Used for fuel/energy

Geothermal energy

Heat stored in:

• soil

• underground rocks

• fluid in the Earth’s mantle

Geothermal heat pump

Cogeneration

process of producing electricity and heat from a single source

Biomass energy

The burning of waste such as wood, garbage, crops, landfill gas, and alchohol fuels

Tidal energy

form of power produced from the rise/fall of the tides

NIMBY

“not in my backyard”

• refers to a grp of people that opposes an infrastructure development project

Feed-in Tariffs

utilities buy electricity from homeowners w/ solar cells + feed into electrical grid